The cow car

SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. — It is easy to spot Clint Mielke’s car in the pit during a demolition derby, but not because of his number. Rather, his car is painted black and white like a cow, and has a stuffed cow tied to its roof.

“I get such an adrenaline rush doing demolition derbies; it makes you feel alive,” Mielke said. “Plus, my buddies do them too.” 

Mielke has been participating in demolition derbies for about 15 years at county fairs across central Minnesota. At home, Mielke milks 160 cows in a 16-stall trigon parlor and farms 1,000 acres near Sauk Rapids. Mielke’s wife, Jade, helps as needed around the farm and together they have two daughters, Stella and Hailey.

“On the farm you are always fixing something, so I just learned basic mechanics and welding from being on the farm,” Mielke said.

Mielke said he does 3-5 demolition derbies a year, depending on how long his car lasts. He usually has another car on hand for parts but not necessarily ready for a derby.

“I went with a cow theme because I’m a dairy farmer and the theme stuck,” Mielke said. “I have always been the cow car.”

Along with the black and white cow spotted paint job, Mielke has the number 88 on top of his car every year. For the past 10 years, Arnold’s Inc., a local equipment dealer, has sponsored Mielke and his demolition derby endeavors.

Demolition derbies, like farming, are busiest in the summer. Mielke makes time to work on his cars at night after evening chores.

“My daughters help me out with painting the car,” Mielke said. “I put each of their names on the side.”

In demolition derbies, classes are sorted by the type of vehicle. There are classes for minivans, big cars and compact cars. Mielke has participated in each type of class. The last few years, he has been competing in the minivan class.

“Ideally, I would get the same car every year so I can just transfer the stuff I built for inside the car to the next, but that never happens,” Mielke said.

For safety, Mielke and all demolition derby drivers strip out the interior of the car and build a cage around the driver.

“It takes a while to get everything stripped out of the original car and build the cage that you have to have,” Mielke said. “Last year I had a 2005 Odyssey. It had airbags everywhere and climate control and took twice as long to tear apart as any car from the 90s would have. This year I have a van from the 90s and it only took me an hour and a half to tear everything out.”

The driver’s exterior door can have a protection bar, chained shut for reinforcement, and a roll-over bar can be added to the top of the car for safety.

“I’ve never been flipped, but it can happen,” Mielke said.

Mielke said he enjoys the whole process of tearing apart the cars, adjusting them and being in the demolition derbies themselves.

“I’m lucky if I get a full summer out of one car,” Mielke said. “Once I had one car that lasted a couple of years, but most of the time it’s one car a year.”

Mielke looks for older cars or minivans that run well and have little to no rust.

“I’m always looking so that I always have one on hand because when you need one, you won’t be able to find one,” Mielke said. “Older models are getting harder to find every year.”

Mielke got his start helping his friends with their demolition cars. However, it did not take long for him to get the itch to enter a derby himself.

Mielke said most of his friends still participate in demolition derbies locally and some have even participated on national demolition derby circuits.

“We go against each other often,” Mielke said. “We usually band together until the final round, when it’s for all the money, then it gets to be head-to-head competition.”

A shelf in Mielke’s shop is full of trophies, including one naming Mielke as the Big Dog, for the car that took the hardest hit. But the winning is not what drives Mielke to continue; it is simply for the fun, he said. Though dairy farming makes for a busy summer, Mielke said he has no intention of slowing down his demolition derby hobby.

“Every year I learn something and apply that for next year,” Mielke said.